Fastening device for ski and mountaineering shoes



L BASO Oct. 29, 1968 FASTENING DEVICE FOR SKI AND MOUNTA'INEERING SHOES 2 Shets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 19, 1967 was 5 @4422 flaw 6/ Get. 29, 1968 L... BASO 3,407,450

FASTENING DEVICE FOR SKI AND MOUNTAINEERING SHOES Filed Jan. 19, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig- 5 x J 2 Z 4 3 5 7 a6 24 INVENTOR. we/.5 5450 United States ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a fastening device for shoes, particularly for ski and mountaineering shoes. Said fastening device comprises a clamping loop which is adjustably mounted in a strap loop of a punched instep strap and said clamping loop is also engageable with a tensioning lever. The clamping loop is pivotably mounted to one end of a shackle. A post is provided on the upper surface of the opposite end of said shackle, said post extending through one of the punched holes in the instep strap. A loop holds the strap loop together and has a total height which is twice the thickness of the strap plus the thickness of the shackle. The post will thus not become disengaged from the punched hole unless the free end of the strap loop is first removed from the loop.

This invention relates to a fastening device for shoes, particularly for ski and mountaineering shoes. Said fastening device comprises a clamping loop which is mounted adjustably in a strap loop of a punched instep strap. The clamping loop is engageable in the receses of a tensioning lever. An adjustable mounting of the clamping loop on the instep strap is desirable for adjusting the length of the instep strap. Furthermore, said adjustable mounting permits a substantial change in the closing tension of the fastening device. A known fastening device has a small screw bolt which projects through a pair of holes in the instep strap, said holes being axially aligned and said bolt having a nut secured thereto. This produces a secure strap loop on the instep strap. To adjust the clamping loop mounted into said strap loop, the screw bolt and nut are removed and the two adjacent loop parts of the instep strap are moved in opposite directions to each other for shortening of the strap loop. Then the bolt projects through another set of two holes in the instep strap, said holes being axially aligned and having a nut and bolt securing same. It is obvious that handling of said known construction is complicated and time consuming with the added disadvantage that the required tool is not always on hand. A further disadvantage is that the bolt and the nut, being both relatively small in size, can easily be lost during the process of adjustment.

It is the purpose of this invention to manufacture a fastening device of the above-mentioned construction which easily permits adjustment of the clamping loop of the instep strap without having any of the mentioned disadvantages.

To attain said purpose, the invention provides a preferably pivotable mounting of the clamping loop at a shackle, which comprises a short post at the upper surface of its open end, said post being essentially perpendicular with respect to the shackle and being integral with said shackle, each post being engaged in one of the strap holes and projecting above the upper surface of the strap and comprising a loop holding the strap loop together in a known manner, said loop being arranged between the clamping loop and the post and being of a total height which corresponds essentially to twice the thickness of a strap in addition to the shackle thickness such that the projecting atent post prevents slipping of the loop from the strap loop. Said construction guarantees a strong connection between the clamping loop and the instep strap. The post, which is engaged in one of the strap holes and which transfers the forces produced by the clamping loop by means of the shackle into the instep strap, cannot slip out of the respective strap hole because the loop which cooperates with the post, or with its end projecting above the upper surface of the instep strap, prevents said slipping. Since the loop of the invention provides a total height which essentially corresponds to twice the strap thickness in addition to the shackle thickness, the loop cannot slip over the end of the post and consequently cannot set same free. In spite of this a rapid adjustment of the clamping loop according to the invention is possible as will be described hereinafter.

Further details and advantages of the invention are discussed hereinbelow in detail with reference to the illustrative embodiments set forth in the drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view of a skiing shoe utilizing two instep straps and two clamping loops of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side-elevational view of a clamping loop being arranged in a strap loop of an instep strap;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of a clamping loop according to FIGURE 2 whereby the strap loop is indicated in dashdotted lines;

FIGURE 4 is a cut along the line IVIV of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side-elevational view of a further embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a top-elevational view of a clamping loop according to FIGURE 5 utilizing the strap loop of the instep strap indicated in dash-dotted lines;

FIGURE 7 is a cut along the line VIIVII of FIG- URE 6;

FIGURES 2 to 7 illustrate the embodiment of the invention approximately in actual size.

Two punched instep straps 2 are for example connected to the instep portion 1 of a ski shoe, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. Clamping loops 4 are adjustably mounted to each strap loop and are arranged at the free end of the instep strap. Said clamping loops are engageable, in a known manner, in recesses of tensioning levers 5 which are pivotally mounted in bearing blocks 5a. Each clamping loop 4 and tensioning lever 5 together form a fastening device. The fastening devices 6 are not a subject matter of this invention.

According to the invention, the clamping loops 4 are each mounted at 5, preferably pivotably, to a shackle 7, which shackle is provided with a post 9 at its upper free end 8. Said post is arranged in one of the strap holes 12 respectively and projects above the upper surface of the strap 2. Furthermore a loop 11 or 11a is provided, said loop holding together, in a known manner, the strap loop 3. The loop 11 or 11a is arranged between the mounting 5 of the clamping loop 4 and the post 9 and has a total height which essentially corresponds to twice the strap thickness in addition to the shackle thickness. This construction makes it impossible for the loop 11 to slip over the post 9 of the strap loop 3 and thereby to free the post so that said post can slip out of the respective strap hole 12. To make the latter possible, the end of the instep strap 2a must be pulled out of the loop 11. After the end of the instep strap 2a is pulled out it is easy to remove the post 9 from the respective strap hole 12 and to insert said post into another strap hole. After this is done the loop 11 is brought back to its original position with respect to the post 9 and the end of the instep strap 2a is guided into the loop. After these simple and rapid manipulations a secure and strong connection is established again between the clamping loop 4 and the instep strap 2.

3 The loop 11 in the embodiment of FIGURES 2 to 4 is of a fiat construction at least at its web 13 which cooperates with the post 9 and said loop comprises an opening 14 into which the post end 9a is engageable. As especially illustrated in FIGURE 3, the elfective part 15 of the web 13, said part being indicated in a dash-dotted line (this is the part which prevents a slipping of the loop 11 from the strap loop 3 over the post 9) is arranged between the mounting of the clamping loop 4 and the post 9. A further advantage of said embodiment is that the remaining part of the web 13 of the loop 11 Which web cooperates with the post 9, also prevents movement of the loop in the direction of the mounting 5 of the clamping loop 4. Consequently the loop 11 abuts at all times with its web cooperating with the post 9.

As illustrated in FIGURES 2 to 4, the post 9 is drawn from the material at the free end 8 of the metal shackle 7. This embodiment not only permits simple manufacture but also has the advantage of being exceptionally strong with respect to the shear or bending forces acting from the instep strap 2 on the post. Said strong rigidity is the result of the shackle 7 and the pivot 9 being integral in this embodiment and is the result of the post being formed with a hollow section during drawing, said hollow section having a higher moment of resistance.

The pivotable mounting 5 of the clamping loop 4 advantageously has an eye 16 provided on shackle 7, said eye 16 having a crossbar 17 of the clamping loop 4 arranged therein.

FIGURES 5 to 7 illustrate a further embodiment of the invention wherein the loop 11a is formed of wire. According to the embodiment of FIGURES 2 to 4, the essentially rectangular shape is the same for the loop 11a and the loop 11, except that the latter loop is punched and bent out of metal. The bent ends of the loop 11 or 110 respectively are advantageously welded together.

In other respects the embodiment of FIGURES 5 to 7 corresponds to the first-mentioned embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 2 to 4. An advantage of said embodiment is that the loop 11a is simpler in construction and more economical; however the stability of the loop in direction to the mounting '5 of the clamping loop 4 has been decreased. The functioning of said loop 11a is in other respects the same as the functioning of the loop 11. Here too a slipping of the post 9 out of the respective strap hole 12 is prevented by means of the loop, especially by its web 18 cooperating with the post 9. Adjustment of the clamping loop with respect to the instep strap 2 occurs in the same manner as in the first-mentioned embodiment.

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A fastening device, particularly for ski and mountaineering shoes, comprising:

a flexible instep strap securely mounted adjacent one end thereof, the other end of said strap having a plurality of spaced openings therethrough;

a clamping loop adapted to be adjustably and pivotally connected to said strap adjacent said other end thereof;

a shackle member having a base portion and a pivot portion adjacent one edge thereof, said pivot portion rotatably supporting a portion of said clamping loop for pivotally interconnecting said shackle member thereto;

a post fixedly secured to the base portion closely adjacent said pivot portion, said post extending substantially transverse to and outwardly from one side of said base portion and having a height greater than the thickness of said instep strap and being positionable within one of said strap openings with said post projecting therethrough;

said instep strap having a strap looped formed in the other end thereof by folding the strap so that the free end of the strap is positioned substantially adjacent an intermediate portion thereof, said strap loop at least partially surrounding the pivot portion of said shackle member for pivotally interconnecting said clamping loop to said strap;

the intermediate portion of said strap having said openings therein and being positioned substantially adjacent the one side of said base portion with said post extending through one of said openings, the free end of said strap loop being positioned substantially adjacent the other side of said base portion; and

a locking loop for holding said strap loop closely adjacent the opposite sides of said base portion and for maintaining said post within one of said openings;

said locking loop surrounding said strap loop and said base portion and having a part thereof positioned between said pivot portion and said post, said locking loop defining an opening therein having a height slightly greater than the thickness of the strap loop when the free end is positioned adjacent the intermediate portion of the strap with the base portion of the shackle member being positioned therebet'ween;

whereby said clamping loop can be adjustably positioned relative to said strap by slideably removing the free end of said strap from said locking loop, thereby permitting said post to be removed from one of said openings and positioned within another of said openings, the free end of said strap then being slideably repositioned within said locking loop.

2. A fastening device as defined in claim 1 wherein the locking loop is formed of wire and the opening defined thereby is substantially rectangular.

3. A fastening device as defined in claim 1, wherein said locking loop has a fiat web portion having a post opening therein through which the outer end of said post extends, said Web completely surrounding said post opening for preventing said locking loop from moving in either longitudinal direction along said strap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 270,105 1/1883 Park 24165 665,279 1/ 1901 Stackhouse 24-165 830,101 9/1906 Powell 24165 1,958,911 5/ 1934 Christotr'erson 24--265 2,648,114 8/1953 Holtz et al 24-163 X 3,224,118 12/ 1965 Teufel.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner. 

